I cannot tell you how old this cookbook is. It’s been used for a lot of the same recipes over the years, typically homemade sweets.

This morning I was making buttercream frosting for a cake I had made last night.

The cookbook was open and laying on the stove. I had turned the burner on to heat some water for tea.

You see where I’m going here. I turned the wrong burner on and have this atrocious smell as you can imagine! Kevin was just getting up for the morning and it didn’t smell like breakfast.

Anyway, here’s the point.

This cookbook reminded me of life.

We make mistakes.

You can’t see the “burns” like you can on the book.
You don’t know what life has “spilled” on someone.
You don’t know what pages have been pulled out and put back in.
You don’t know what recipes have been inserted. 

But the cookbook can still be used.

The burns, the spills, and the tears may leave the book a mess, but it’s still being held together.

Do we feel that way sometimes?
Does life make us feel like a used up book?
Walking through some days can definitely be a struggle.
The burns hurt, the stains scar, the tears can seem unbearable.
But we are still here.

Why?

Because we have a purpose.
Someone is hungry.
Someone needs nourishment.
Someone needs comfort.

Sometimes it’s for someone else, but sometimes it’s for yourself.

You can’t judge a book by it’s cover, you have to open it to know what’s inside.

So don’t throw the book out because it’s visibly used up.
It still has meaning.
It still holds value.
It still has purpose.